polar alignment dilemma

[datman]

Hi

Not sure if I'm too late with my comment but here goes. I have an HEQ5 Pro (polar scope led is intensity is adjustable) and was totally confused by the polar alignment procedure until I realised that the procedure for polar alignment (PA) and scope alignment are independant. OK I know one depends upon the other but....

If the mount/scope is in the parked position at the start there's more than a good chance it won't be when you've finished PA. The DEC shaft is rotated to clear the hole in the PA scope. The RA shaft is then rotated until the "polaris bubble" is at the correct "clock" time shown by the GOTO handset. Az and Alt are then used to get polaris in the bubble. The only reason for moving RA and DEC into these odd positions is to physically align the RA spindle so it is rotating around the Celestrial Pole.

This process also means that the mount only needs to be reasonably level at the start which is probably why there isn't one on the HEQ5 Pro. The view up the PA scope is so narrow it would be impossible to align if it was miles off level.

It does not align the telescope.

To have any chance of finding a star GOTO needs to start from the parked position. The software may be clever but I think miracles are beyond it ;-) The GOTO software aligns the mount, it does not know where the telescope is pointing . That's your job! At this point your OTA should also be pointing at or near to Polaris. Your dials should also be set from this position(0 & 90). If your first alignment star is miles off, release RA & Dec and realign. If you get in a complete mess return the mount to park and start again.

You do not need to PA again, that is fixed

until you move the tripod/mount.

Having old bones my solution to not having a rubber neck was to make a wheeled stool so I can get right under the tripod and look up the PA scope. I've also put staples into the decking to mark where the tripod legs should go. This is accurate enough to be able to see Polaris in the scope at the first attempt then a few minutes to align. I also fit the OTA before doing PA, once it is balanced it is easy to move to the "clock" position and the risk of moving the tripod after PA is reduced.

There's loads of sound advice in the earlier posts I guess it's just a case of reading and extracting what makes sense to you.

Datman